Eleven months and 13 days after the Islanders heard a player give them a seemingly devastating “No,” they received a surprising and emphatic “Yes.” Jordan Eberle, whom the team once saw as a terrific complement to John Tavares, chose to stay with the organization that Tavares left. In Eberle’s case, the Islanders and the Island made a believer out of him.
Credit that to a whole new view, from the inside and out, on the franchise since last July 1. Eberle was seen by many hockey experts as the free agent most likely to leave and he chose to stay, and not just for a little while.